Earth Day Ideas for Businesses: 5 Simple Tips to Celebrate Earth Day in the Office

Earth Day is just around the corner -- Sunday, April 22 to be exact. While various events will be held around the world in support of environmental protection, you may be at a loss when it comes to Earth Day ideas for the office. If you’re still looking for a great way to help your business support the environment this year, your entire office staff can do their part on Earth Day and beyond by following these simple tips.

1) Conserve Power

Offices tend to use a lot of energy – from lighting, to computers, and other digital devices. One of the easiest ways to lessen your carbon footprint is to have office staff cut back on their power output. Simply setting computers to “energy-saving” settings and having employees shut down computers and other electronics at the end of the day can save some serious electricity.

Your business should also consider getting rid of bright, incandescent lighting and purchasing LED or CFL lightbulbs to save even more energy. LED lights are up to 80% more efficient than traditional incandescent and fluorescent lights. Plus, only 5% of LED energy is wasted as heat.

2) Encourage Recycling

If your office doesn’t have a recycling program yet, Earth Day is a great reason to start one. Recycling is a simple, effective, and inexpensive way for everyone in the office to go green. Place larger recycling bins in the breakroom or office kitchen and encourage your staff to recycle aluminum, glass, plastic, paper, and other recyclable items that your city will take. You may even want to think about setting up another recycling bin in the office supply room or closet to properly dispose of ink cartridges, batteries, and more.

3) Cut Back on Paper Waste

The more documents your office can digitize, the less paper products will be used and wasted. Instead of having your employees print documents for meetings or for clients, provide them with flash drives so they can save files and easily email clients what they need, or access their notes for meetings from any computer. There are so many ways that your office can digitize its work, so conduct a brainstorming session with employees to see how else you can cut back on paper waste, then follow through accordingly.

4) Get Familiar with Your Green Thumb

If you’ve ever wanted to add some greenery to your office, Earth Day is the perfect time to start! Once you have permission, have your employees plant a tree outside the office, and discuss how trees can improve the air quality in your community. Through photosynthesis, trees work to absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Just one tree can clean up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year! You can also think about bringing potted plants inside the office to create a more calming environment and improve indoor air quality.

5) Drink Eco-Friendly Filtered Water

An office water dispenser is an ideal drinking water option for any business that wants to protect the environment. Not only can an eco-friendly water filtration system help your business reduce air and water pollution, it can also provide a cleaner, healthier drinking water solution for your office. The high-tech water filtration and disinfection process works to remove unwanted particles, chemicals, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants to help you offer your staff and clients healthier, better-tasting water.

These are just some Earth Day ideas that your office can think about implementing this year. By following through with any of these green initiatives, your office is sure to make a positive environmental impact on Earth Day and all throughout the year.